Weekly Rochester Events #360: The Rochester Rain-Fox-Tea Triangle

Thursday, December 1, 2005

I gotta say I'm completely wiped out. I mean, I think I broke my brain — like you'd get a muscle pull but inside your head. I suspect it started with that whole nutty project and trip over the summer. After that I feel like the inside of my head is just like my house looks: tools and unfinished projects strewn about all over the place and if I do anything at all, it's to just stop and stare at them like they're going to be all put away and completed themselves.

So, if I appear that I've gone completely insane, that would be just pickles.

Anyway, not so much from the couple drinks that I had at Lux Lounge (666 South Ave.) afterward, but more the three or four I had during a three-hour conversation with my best friend that I don't remember, I ended up nursing a ... umm ... nausea-heavy hangover during most of Thanksgiving. As an added bonus, I was incoherent and abusive on the phone: more evidence of insanity.

The big meal and party was at my friend Rebecca's house — among other things, she's a pastry chef — so I was desperate to nurse away that hangover. And what an insane dinner it was ... a huge spread for dinner (of which I had a chance to try only about half the food.) Dessert was insanely awesome as well: for the 15 people remaining, there were 22 desserts. All amazingly delicious and home-made. I managed to get away totally full and not burstingly so.

On Friday I was spiraling into further insanity ... I have this fear that I am evil at my very core, and that was driving some super-fun anxiety for most of the day. However, I did get out a bit: I went to Starry Nites Café (696 University Ave., formerly Moonbeans) to see Lisa Dotolo for one. I like how she is so casual and unassuming about her performances. It appears that either living in Nashville (she moved from this area a year or two ago) or just playing out a lot has given her a little bit of the "New York City band effect" (which is my term for the kinds of professional bands that show up on stage and perform a perfect CD-quality set without distraction from nor interaction with the audience.) She's certainly not that far, but I saw a little of it. It's great that she's getting more skilled and more professional, but I just hope that she embraces the facet of interaction in musical storytelling.

I stopped at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) for the 1980's DJ's but I was much more in a mood to chit-chat and the whole place was too loud to do that so I took off. However, I'll take the high-road as your vicarious guide to Rochester's music and nightlife and not report second-hand accounts of what I missed after leaving.

Saturday I stopped at Godiva's (653 South Ave.) briefly, lamenting that Open Face (651 South Ave., right by the corner of Hickory) was closed for the holiday. I headed to Patrik's Culinary Kreations (847 S. Goodman St.) instead and had my first Monte Christo sandwich: turkey, ham, and swiss on french toast with some maple syrup on the side — kind of like the definitive brunch sandwich. The New England clam chowder is also really good there, especially if you like it a bit less salty than average (or just like to salt it yourself.) Oh, and their homemade potato chips are a taste to ... uhh ... be-gust.

Later that afternoon I just barely made it to The Little (240 East Ave.) to see Good Night, and Good Luck [or should I say, "finally rush over before it's replaced by another film in one week"]. In general, it's quite good if a bit choppy. They tried to reconstruct a 1950's CBS live news program using archival footage and actors playing the principals. In the end, though, the story is so good it's impossible to step away from — Edward R. Murrows essentially went on live TV to denounce the actions of Senator Joe McCarthy, and through his cautious and methodical approach, he succeeded. So all one needs is a way to broadcast to the whole country a message and tyrants can fall! Less cynically, though, the measure of viewership was by feedback, so they never knew if they really were reaching people — much like Internet publishing today.

While I remember that these California servers [bask in the vaguely warm glow of the mostly reliable service from Dreamhost] are some form of "soap-box", I thought I'd spout out the two chunks of non-insane clarity-of-thought all week.

First was in response to a bleak blog post from my best friend (after my blacked-out verbal abuse) where I addressed the desire for individuals to control as much as possible in their environment versus the desire to build an equitable community. The idea was to focus on the long-term goal of an interdependent community rather than the short-term battles with individual control. And by interdependence, I'm referring to the notion that our world and community is made better by the addition of the effort of each individual. I guess I'm theorizing that "better" is some commonly accepted direction — more a matter of faith than anything else — and that even hentai cosplay is all part of that "better."

Second was a thought I had about the political spectrum. Instead of being divisive — looking at each new person one meets as either a friend or an enemy, for instance — to work toward being inclusive — looking at each new person one meets as a brother. It's addictive to be divisive: to create enemies and straw men. I mean, look at the whole "red-state/blue-state" shit. In the end, we are all Americans. If your brain can take it, we are all human — one people, one race.

I guess it's really just one interdependent, inclusive topic, though (don't fret about being contemptuous — I am perfectly content to bask in solitary self-satisfaction over such contrived sentences.)

Anyway, later that night I went to see King Kong at the Dryden Theater. I still rank it as just an okay movie with really clever special effects. I did tire of seeing Kong fight with different creatures, but the climactic scene on the Empire State Building was still effective. I thought that a review of the recent DVD version (of the original film) on the The Onion A.V. Club which concluded, "a commentary on how arrogance and desire makes animals of us all" was like saying that Twister is a meditation on how the forces that destroy materialistic desires intensify desire between people.

Later that night I went with some cool people to Betty Meyer's Bullwinkle Café (622 Lake Ave.) The crowd was pretty sparse — our group making up most of it — but each of us kind-of got into it. I also began to understand the hat thing there. It's way easier to sing some silly old song when you're looking at how idiotic your friend looks wearing a big purple hat with a feather in it.

I now recommend the hats.

Afterward — and since capital-C-City resident Eve wasn't from the lowercase-C-city (New York and Rochester, respectively, for those not knowing the distinction) — we went to Mark's Texas Hots (487 Monroe Ave.) I was the only one who actually got a plate, which I think is called a "scrap plate" there. It's the kind of meal you eat at 3 a.m. and by 3 p.m. the next day you're still tasting onions and there's a weird hollow feeling in your belly where some animal has been living. I spent Sunday filling that void with the booze at my friend's Booze-and-Brunch ... booze I didn't imbibe on Saturday night; semantically, brunch neither.

Monday night I went to The Little (240 East Ave.) for the Emerging Filmmakers Program. I got in an hour early to see if I could get some food, but the cafe had their kitchen closed because business was slow. I understand ... I live a lot of my days basking in self-fulfilling prophecy too. I figured I'd walk to get something to eat, but there's only Matthew's East End Grill (200 East Ave.) which was far too much of an irritating sports bar (I'd like to eat TV-free) and Spot Coffee (200 East Ave.) which I've been annoyed with for their overpriced and under-tasty food. I managed to sneak out to Magnolia's Market and Deli (366 Park Ave.) and get an excellent Vassar sandwich before getting back in time for the show.

I liked a lot of the films for various reasons. In Whose Name? by Nandini Sikand was a documentary on patriotism through the eyes of a woman raised in India with a father in the military. As children we will buy right into the excitement of any patriotism, but as we get older, we find imperfections and wonder whether we weren't taught jingoism. Likewise, in Eternal Shame, Terry Cuddy draws upon familiar images of television to talk about how quickly we forget — specifically the torture at Abu Grihab — by being constantly barraged with new images from the glass box.

On a different note, The Diversion by Elizabeth Holder was an interesting exploration of gender roles and an exploration of deep stereotypes: between a couple distilled to a sexually greedy, visually-stimulated man and a comparatively passive woman who works hard to keep their sex life vibrant. Night for a Day by Alvin Tsang and Silvana Vienne was okay but felt incomplete, like an unfinished artistic concept. It tries, with some success, to find the intersection of creativity, life, death, September 11, and the Holocaust.

On Tuesday after the Artists Breakfast at Bausch and Lomb (140 Stone St.) where Dave Boyer discussed his experiences in Japan as a caricature artist, I stopped by the South Wedge enigma: Pat's Coffee Mug (627 South Clinton Ave.) Well, it's open weekdays for breakfast and lunch; dinner too on Fridays and then for breakfast on Saturday. They serve inexpensive diner fare ... nothing surprising there ... but it's got such a warm feel with personality-driven decoration.

Pickles.

T H U R S D A Y

Tonight from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. is the Twelfth Annual Park Avenue Holiday Open House along most of Park Avenue from Alexander to Culver, more-or-less. [source: Park Avenue events calendar] [all ages] Today from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. is the opening of a mixed-media show by G. Peter Jemison at Daniel Ward Salon (717 Park Ave.) [source: City Newspaper] Tonight at 6:30 p.m. in Room 1-101 of Dewey Hall at The University of Rochester (Elmwood Ave. at Intercampus Dr., details on River Campus Map) is a screening of El Mariachi [source: University of Rochester Events Calendar] Babymother will be shown in Morey Hall, Room 321 at The University of Rochester (Elmwood Ave. at Intercampus Dr., details on River Campus Map) tonight at 7:15 p.m. Pure Kona Poetry Open Mic Night's special Bad Poetry Night is at Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) tonight starting at 7:30. [source: the proverbial grapevine] [all ages] Tonight at Johnny's Irish Pub (1382 Culver Rd., still smoke-free) is a Comedy Show with Dave Schmidt and Friends starting at 8 p.m. [source: Johnny's Irish Pub calendar] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Los starting at 8 p.m. Serious-ass art film: 35 static, 2 1/2 minute shots of the Greater Los Angeles area. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Tonight at A|V Art Sound Space (#8 in the Public Market, off N. Union St., formerly The All-Purpose Room) is Jack Wright, Wade Matthews, Mike Tamburo, and very good ambient/droning experimental from Entente Cordiale starting around 9 p.m. [source: artsound website] Tonight at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) is Jetty starting around 9:30 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar] [18+]

F R I D A Y

Tonight at The Center at High Falls Fine Art Gallery (70 Brown's Race) is Naked Wall Art by John Cianciotta opening tonight from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. [source: City Newspaper] Tonight at The Rochester Contemporary Art Gallery (137 East Ave.) is the opening reception for the new art show Appendix from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. [source: Rochester Contemporary calendar] This evening from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at The Mercer Gallery at Monroe Community College (1000 E. Henrietta Rd., in Building 5) is the opening of a show titled Exquisite Corpse with collaborative drawings from various artists. [source: City Newspaper] Tonight at The Bop Shop (274 N. Goodman St., in Village Gate Square) is Jimmy Halperin, and very good jazz-style improv from Dominic Duval starting around 8 p.m. [source: Bop Shop calendar] [all ages] Tonight at Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) is Kind of Blue starting around 8 p.m. [source: Daily Perks calendar] [all ages] Over at The Hochstein School of Music and Dance (50 North Plymouth Ave.) in the Hilda D. Taylor Recital Hall is Quartos in Concert: Impact! A Three-part Exploration of the String Quartets of Beethoven and Mendelssohn starting at 8 p.m. Violinists Corinne Stillwell and Patricia Sunwoo, violist George Taylor, and cellist Mimi Hwang will perform Beethoven's Opus 135 and Mendelssohn's Opus 12. No. 2. [source: Hochstein calendar] Starry Nites Café (696 University Ave., formerly Moonbeans) will be hosting Davey O starting around 9 p.m. [source: Starry Nites calendar] [all ages] Tonight at Spy Bar (139 State St.) starting around 10 p.m. is excellent mellow acoustic/digitized guitar from Autumn In Halifax and Ian Downey with Chris Reeg and Darren Whispelaere. [source: band e-mail] Over at The Montage Live (50 Chestnut St., formerly the Montage Grille) starting around 10 p.m. is Chris Trapper. [source: Montage calendar] Tonight and tomorrow is another Geva Comedy Improv show at Nextstage at Geva (75 Woodbury Blvd.) starting at 10:30 each night. [source: Geva Comedy Improv e-mail]

S A T U R D A Y

O'Bagelo's, 165 State Street, noon. Today at 9 a.m., noon, and 3 p.m. is the Corn Hill Holiday Tour by the The Landmark Society of Western New York (133 S. Fitzhugh St.) [source: Landmark Society calendar] Today from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the 3rd floor of The Elton Street Gallery (34 Elton St.) is the opening for Kristin Miller's MFA thesis exhibit, In/Habitable. [source: City Newspaper] The Steve Greene Trio will be at Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) starting around 7:30 p.m. [source: Daily Perks calendar] [all ages] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing White Dog starting at 8 p.m. A young actress begins to realize that her new dog appears to have been trained to attack black people. This is the "Director's Cut," restored from the version that was released in an attempt to appease critics of its overtly racial theme. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Over at Starry Nites Café (696 University Ave., formerly Moonbeans) starting around 9 p.m. is Blue Fusion. [source: Starry Nites calendar] [all ages] Tonight at The Montage Live (50 Chestnut St., formerly the Montage Grille) is the Hardcore For Homeless Show featuring Mainline Adrenaline and Inherence to benefit Friends Helping Friends (, formerly Rochester Food Not Bombs) starting around 10 p.m. [source: Montage calendar] Space Agency, and good funky groove band Vernon's Bird will be at Richmond's (21 Richmond St.) starting around 10:30 p.m. [source: Freetime] [18+] Over at Monty's Krown (875 Monroe Ave.) starting around 10:30 p.m. is Burning Daylight, and Footage. [source: Freetime] [21+] Better-than-excellent rock/surf-rock/rockabilly from The Sadies, The Whiskey Daredevils, and Duke Galaxy and the Pipeliners will be at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) starting around 10:45 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar] Tonight's another Betty's Sing-a-Long at Betty Meyer's Bullwinkle Café (622 Lake Ave.) starting around 10.

S U N D A Y

This afternoon at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at The Memorial Art Gallery (500 University Ave., near Goodman St.) is a Going For Baroque mini-concert with Michael Unger performing on the newly installed Italian Baroque organ. [source: Memorial Art Gallery calendar] Over at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) starting around 8 p.m. is the Hip Hop Haven open mic. [source: band e-mail] Starry Nites Café (696 University Ave., formerly Moonbeans) is hosting their weekly Open Mike Poetry tonight at 7 p.m. [source: Starry Nites calendar] [all ages]

T U E S D A Y

This morning at 7:30 a.m. in the cafeteria overlooking the arboretum in Bausch and Lomb (140 Stone St.) is the Artists Breakfast Group meeting ... anyone interested in art or creativity is invited. Since there's no scheduled speaker, it'll be a general discussion. [source: the proverbial grapevine] This evening from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. is Japanese Stab Binding — a workshop with Brook Crowley at The Genesee Center for the Arts (713 Monroe Ave.) [source: Genesee Center for the Arts calendar] Updated: Over at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) starting around 9:30 p.m. is Kiss Me Deadly and great 1980's-styled rock from Tiger Cried Beef. [source: Bug Jar calendar] [18+] Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) is hosting an Acoustic Open Mic from 8 to 10. [source: Daily Perks calendar]

W E D N E S D A Y

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (half-staff until sunset) Are you a creative innovator? You'd probably be interested to hear Brooks, Duffy, and Robach to Present 2006 Vision for Rochester at The Arts and Cultural Council for Greater Rochester's Innovation Conference Series: Connecting Creativity to Regional Success today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Hyatt Regency Hotel (125 East Main St.) Oh, by the way, you'll also need like a hundred bucks to get in. Could this taint the conference? Better pay up if you want your say in the "vision." [source: Arts and Cultural Council e-mail] This afternoon at 5 p.m. in Morey Hall, Room 314 at The University of Rochester (Elmwood Ave. at Intercampus Dr., details on River Campus Map) is a screening of Flame. [source: University of Rochester Events Calendar] Tonight at 7 p.m. at Verb Café at Writers and Books (740 University Ave.) is another Just Poets Reading and Open Mike. [source: Writers and Books calendar] [all ages] Poor People United meets tonight and every Wednesday at 7 at St. Joseph's House of Hospitality (402 South Ave.) [source: the proverbial grapevine] There's an Open Mic for Acoustic Music at Boulder Coffee Co. (100 Alexander St.) tonight around 8. [source: the proverbial grapevine] [all ages]

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